Latest Tua Tagovailoa update shows GM Chris Grier finally got the message

While Miami Dolphins fans sit around and wait for the dollar amount totals on Tua Tagovailoa's next contract, Chris Grier and company are still working through the red tape to actually get a deal agreed to.

Somewhere, likely on a golf course, sits the Dolphins franchise quarterback waiting for his agent to shoot him a text saying the deal is done. Tua has said that he is "antsy" about getting the deal done, but now, it appears that once the weekend is over, everything will shift quite soon. In fact, things are expected to "heat up" over the next week, according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler.

Dolphins GM Chris Grier needs to finalize a Tua Tagovailoa contract soon

The Dolphins would be smart to get a contract done with Tagovailoa now before other players like Jalen Hurts and Dak Prescott raise the salary bar higher than it is already. The extension signed by Trevor Lawrence has pushed the next round of contracts to the Joe Burrow level and it will only go higher from there.

Grier has simply waited too long and hasn't anticipated the market changes. Now, he has no choice but to pay more for the team's indecisions. If the Dolphins were negotiating with the idea that they would present Tua with a reasonable offer and then walk away this offseason from the table if it wasn't accepted, it would make sense. They could challenge him to perform for another season at an elite level before paying him next offseason. That isn't the case if they are continuing to go back to the table, especially after Lawrence's contract.

At absolute minimum, Tagovailoa should receive the same amount that Lawrence did, but that won't be the case now and he is likely to set the NFL record with his contract. Grier shouldn't have waited to get this done. So much for this deal being further along than Lawrence's.